The Wizard of FT
by chaotic.souljam
Summary: Spirited away to a foreign land, Lady Lucy and her exhibitionist butler Gray  must find a way to get back home by somehow surviving falling mansions, talking blue cats and Lucy's growing awareness of Gray's invasion of her  personal space. Repeatedly.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I do not own either Fairy Tail or The Wizard of Oz.

A man hovered a few feet above a floor inscribed with runes. He held an open book in one hand, its pages gently fluttering in the morning breeze. His fingers traveled down the page and located the spell he had in mind.

"That damn Makarov! He'll pay for what he did to me, the great Eligor!" he cried.

He closed his eyes, chanting verses in an obscure language. He felt a breeze swirling about his feet. Raising his voice, he extended his free hand in front of him. The wind sped up, whirling rapidly about his body.

"Hechizo estupidez!" he uttered.

The wind became a seething purple cyclone. Eligor stood in the center, cackling like a madman. The cyclone rose up into the sky and out of sight.

"Now to wait. That wizard wouldn't even know what hit him!" he crowed.

* * *

Lucy Heartphilia lay on her bed, skimming idly through the latest issue of _Sorcerer_. Finding nothing of interest, she tossed the magazine off her bed. It landed with a soft thump on the lush carpeted floor.

"Nothing interesting ever happens to me," she lamented, looking forlornly around her room.

It was lavishly decorated, just like the rest of the Heartphilia mansion. It had all the furnishings one could want in a room; a queen-sized bed, a mini-fridge in the corner, her own private bathroom, everything. Yet despite all its luxuries, she sometimes found herself wishing for something different.

She reached for the gate keys on her nightstand, contemplating on whether to call Plue or not. A quick glance at the calendar tacked above her bed told her that she couldn't summon it today. Sighing deeply, she grabbed a perfumed pillow and closed her eyes.

"I guess I'll just take a nap then," she murmured, burying her face into the pillow. She inhaled its fragrance and wrinkled her nose, deciding that she was sick to death of her pillows smelling like roses all the time.

Barely a minute later, her bedroom door was thrown open. Her hand instantly tightened around her keys.

"Lucy!"

She sat up slowly and glared at the intruder. She squinted at the grandfather clock to her right. 10 o'clock. It wasn't time for lunch yet. She wondered briefly why he was barging into her room before dismissing it as just another one of his habits.

"Gray! Ever heard of knocking? It's what civilized people do before they enter a room. Try to learn it sometime," she bit out irritably, loosening her grip on the keys.

"No time for that!" he replied hurriedly. He crossed the room as fast as he could and grabbed Lucy's arm. He pulled her towards the door, ignoring her protests.

* * *

"What's wrong? Where are we going? And where on earth are your clothes?" Lucy asked in one breath as they hastened along the corridors. The lamps lighting their way flickered ominously.

"Tornado. The underground cellar. The others are already there," Gray replied tersely, his jaw clenching as he tried to increase their pace.

Lucy stumbled, idly noting that he had ignored her last question. She fell to her knees, wincing slightly at the impact. Gray turned back and unceremoniously hauled her to her feet. At that moment, they heard the wind's howls grow louder. Lucy ran to the nearest window, pushed away the heavy embroidered curtain and peered out. She gasped.

A colossal column of air raged, grabbing hold of everything in its wake. It was an unnatural, venomous purple cyclone that was undoubtedly magical in origin. Lucy watched, thunderstruck, as the cyclone swiftly advanced towards them. She snapped out of her daze when Gray seized her and threw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. After securing her, he sprinted in the direction of the cellar.

"What do you think you're doing? Put me down this instant! That's an order!" Lucy commanded in her best Lady Heartphilia tone. She flushed, uncomfortably aware of her proximity to her bare-chested butler.

"Sorry, my lady. You're just too slow," Gray replied wryly. He glanced around and noted that they had reached the living room. They were almost there.

Just as Lucy was opening her mouth to object, the mansion lurched and Gray lost his balance. She yelped and squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself for the collision. He adjusted his hold on her at the last minute and cradled her against him, taking the brunt of the fall. His head hit the marble floor and his vision swam. He grimaced slightly, cursing the floor for being so damn hard.

In the meantime, while he had been busy proclaiming marble to be the scourge of mankind, Lucy had rolled off him and was now hovering over him, her pale face twisting with anxiety.

"Gray! Are you all right?" she asked.

He instinctively assessed the damage and concluded that the dizziness would fade and no permanent harm had been done. He shook his head in an attempt to clear it. Lucy mistook it for a sign that he _wasn't_ okay.

"Don't die on me, you idiot!" she whimpered, shaking him fiercely. The floor pitched hard and she caught a glimpse outside the mansion. Her jaw dropped. She shook him even harder, willing him to snap out of it.

His head flopped back and forth. Too weak from both the impact to his head and the violent shaking to voice his protests, he felt his consciousness slip away.

"No! Gray!"

* * *

Eligor lounged on a moth-eaten couch, staring at a patch of peeling plaster on the wall. He traced the pattern, trying to discern where the peeling had begun. Then, he froze, realizing just how lame he was being.

"I have way too much time on my hands," he grumbled, looking around the dusty room. It had been hours since he had cast the spell and he hadn't heard any news about Fairy Tail at all. It was very disconcerting.

The room had felt empty ever since he was defeated in the battle against Makarov, the wizard master of the land of Fairy Tail. All his men had fled and abandoned him. So he retreated into his territory, Eisenwald. He sighed, the silence almost deafening.

"I am _not_ feeling lonely," he said emphatically.

Just then, violent winds shattered the windows. Jerking upright, he ran to the door and threw it open. He held up a hand and tried to shield his face from flying debris. Confused, he sought the source of such powerful wind.

It was a cyclone. _His_ cyclone which was supposed to lay waste to Makarov's Fairy Tail. He slammed the door shut and snatched up the book he had gotten the spell from.

"Where was it?" he mumbled, thumbing through the pages. After flipping past a page detailing how to contain wind in lachryma, he found it, hurriedly scanned the procedure and confirmed that he had done everything right. When he reached the bottom of the page, he saw a footnote he had dismissed as irrelevant before. He leaned in to read the tiny script.

_Caution: Spell is experimental. There is no guarantee the cyclone will appear in the intended place. Use at your own risk._

_P.S.: From further tests, it has been concluded that the cyclone always comes back to the caster. It is recommended that the caster take precautions (e.g. hiding underground, etc.) when attempting to cast this spell._

He flung the book away and tried to think of a way to get the situation under control. Suddenly, the wind died down. Filled with a sense of foreboding, he inched towards the door and cracked it open. He saw nothing.

He sighed in relief and sagged against the doorway. Then he heard an odd whistling and looked up.

A house was falling from the sky. He was about to be squashed by a house. No, wait. Scratch that. He was about to be squashed by a _mansion_ falling from the sky.

"Damn."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I do not own either Fairy Tail or The Wizard of Oz.

Sunlight filtering in from the broken window roused Gray from his slumber. Unwilling to get up just yet, he rolled over, trying to fall back asleep. He felt his fingers touch something soft and warm. Acting purely on impulse, he pulled it close and wrapped his body around it. Sighing in contentment, he went back to sleep.

"Poor guy. What a way to go," a girl said, sympathetically. She knelt down and inspected the feet sticking out from under the mansion. Her two companions followed suit, checking for any sign that the feet belonged to Eligor, wizard master of Eisenwald. The tell-tale markings on the limbs confirmed the unfortunate man's identity.

"'Poor guy', Levy? That 'poor guy' attacked Fairy Tail, remember? He totally had it coming. Right, Jet?" her companion said, looking to the other for support.

"Droy's right," Jet acceded, tipping his head slightly in Droy's direction. "He deserved it." He fiddled with his hat distractedly, wondering what circumstances brought this mansion crashing down on the notorious evil wizard of the east.

"Come on, you guys. I mean, can you imagine how it would sound when they put him in the obituary in _The Fiore Times_? Cause of death: crushed to death under a mansion that fell from the sky," Levy replied.

The three paused for a moment then promptly burst into fits of laughter.

* * *

Lucy slowly stirred, her mind groggily running through the recent events.

"Oh, yeah. There was a tornado outside the mansion," she mumbled sleepily.

Then realization hit her like a ton of bricks and her eyes shot open, all traces of sleep gone. She attempted to get up only to find her movement restricted by a pair of toned arms around her waist. She inhaled deeply, trying to calm herself enough so she could think her way out of this situation. Warm breath tickled her nape as her would-be captor sighed in his sleep. This was too much for Lucy.

She pinched one of the arms as hard as she could. He jerked awake, loosening his grip on her in the process. Lucy took advantage of this and extricated herself from him. She got to her feet as quickly as she could. She folded her arms across her chest and glared down at him.

"What _exactly_ did you think you were doing, Gray Fullbuster?" she demanded.

"Ow! Damn it, Lucy. That hurt!" Gray complained, massaging his forearm.

"It's your fault for taking advantage of me in my sleep, you pervert!" she huffed, flicking her blond hair back with a practiced hand. She colored slightly, regretting her spontaneous decision to curl up beside him in the first place. No matter how cold she had been or how worried she was about him, she should have known better. She shook her head at her own foolishness and perched herself on a nearby table, allowing her legs to hang over the edge.

"Taking advantage?" he said indignantly. "It's not like we haven't slept together before!"

"That was way back then! It's not the same and you know it!" she shot back.

"Why?" he asked. He got up and looked at her questioningly.

"Huh? In case you haven't noticed, we aren't kids anymore, Gray," she deadpanned.

"Young ladies like me," she explained, seeing his look of confusion, "can't go around engaging in socially unacceptable behavior with just anybody, especially not her butler. It's not proper."

Gray's expression darkened at her words. He stepped closer and positioned his arms on the wood on either side of her, effectively trapping her. He leaned in as close as he dared.

"Is that all I am to you? Just another servant?" he snapped. He held her gaze with his own unreadable one.

Something in the way he was looking at her right now told her he wasn't just confirming their friendship. She shook her head slightly. This was Gray. There was no way in hell that he can be anything other than her best friend. That's just too unbelievable.

"Why so serious?" she asked, forcing a laugh. "We're friends and your being my butler will never get in the way of that."

He stayed silent for a moment before dropping her gaze. At that moment, she felt like he had been testing her and she had failed horribly. She opened her mouth to say something, anything, when she heard him let out a soft chuckle. He brought a hand up to push his dark locks from his face.

"That's my mistress. I'm glad my lowly status doesn't prevent you from gracing me with your friendship, my lady," he said mock-seriously.

She sighed in relief. He was obviously fine if he was joking around like that. She giggled, glad that he seemed to be back to normal.

"Eep!"

Their heads turned simultaneously towards the sound. There stood in the doorway a girl flanked by two lanky guys. The only striking difference between the guys was that one of them wore a ridiculous-looking hat. All looked mortified, their eyes studiously avoiding the couple in front of them.

"I'm so sorry! We didn't mean to interrupt!" the girl rushed on, her hands gesturing wildly. She abruptly turned to the two guys. The three huddled together, wide-eyed.

"See, Droy! I _told_ you we should have knocked first!" she whispered loudly. She bit her lip and pulled worriedly at a wisp of sky-blue hair that had escaped from her headband.

"How was I supposed to know there were people here? It looked abandoned to me! Besides, the door was open so we couldn't possibly have knocked!" the hatless guy pointed out, failing to keep his voice low.

"So, what do we do now? We obviously interrupted them in the middle of their," the girl paused, trying to find the right word, "'couple time'!" She snuck glances at the barely clad boy leaning familiarly into the fair-haired girl. She silently squealed, her experience with romance novels supplying her with a multitude of possible circumstances that could have led to this.

"Well, obviously we should leave them to continue, um," Jet fidgeted, his face reddening, "'playing'." He fought the urge to pull his hat over his blushing face.

The trio looked at each other. Sensing that none of his companions wanted to be the one to address the two strangers who were currently staring at them with open curiosity, Jet heaved a long-suffering sigh and resigned himself to it.

He cleared his throat, stalling for time. He adjusted his hat self-consciously.

"So, um, I suppose we should leave you to your, uh, 'business'" he stammered. As one, the group began tiptoeing away as fast as they could, their intention to investigate the mansion completely forgotten.

"Who were those guys?" Lucy asked, looking at Gray inquiringly. He just shook his head.

"Door-to-door salesmen. Probably."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I do not own either Fairy Tail or The Wizard of Oz.

"So, Gray," Lucy started.

"Yeah?" he replied, turning back to her.

"Do you mind? You're invading my personal space," she said, delicately shooing him away with one hand.

"Oh."

He moved back and waited as she hopped off the table. He couldn't help but notice how her short skirt rode up just the tiniest bit, revealing more skin that he was comfortable with. Lucy noticed where his gaze was directed and firmly tugged her skirt down. She frowned at him. He simply shrugged in response.

"What? If you don't want guys to look, don't wear those kinds of clothes," he said defensively.

Lucy looked as if she would like to argue but decided against it. She walked purposefully towards the open doors leading out to the corridors. She didn't need to look back to know that Gray wasn't far behind. That was the nature of their relationship after all. It didn't matter where she went; he would always follow.

* * *

"I was just wondering. What happened to the tornado that was about to smash us to smithereens?" Gray asked offhandedly as they walked along the hallway towards the main doors.

"Oh my gosh! I had totally forgotten about that!" Lucy exclaimed, clapping a hand against her forehead.

"I can't believe you forgot something as big as that," Gray snorted. "What, were you too busy feeling guilty about knocking me unconscious?" he added teasingly.

"Shut up!" she hissed. "Anyway, while you were unconscious I felt the house moving," Lucy said.

"So…You felt the earth move under your feet?" Gray said gravely. She glared daggers at him.

"Okay, okay. No more jokes. Got it. Carry on, then," he nodded.

"Well, long story short, we were abducted by a magical tornado," she summarized. Sensing that Gray had stopped walking, she paused and looked over her shoulder at him.

Gray stared blankly at her for a few moments. Then he clamped a hand over his mouth, attempting to stifle his laughter and failing miserably.

"Oh, please. Don't hold back on my account. Feel free to express your amusement at my expense. I don't mind," Lucy said sarcastically. She turned away from him and pouted. Unable to contain his mirth any longer, he burst out laughing. She huffed in indignation and resumed walking. Still chuckling, Gray hurried to catch up with her.

"Come on, Lucy. Stop sulking and tell me what _really_ happened," he cajoled.

"I already told you but you wouldn't believe me," she ground out.

"Don't tell me you were actually serious about the whole tornado abduction thing?" he asked jokingly, looking sideways at her. Lucy gritted her teeth and ignored him.

"You _were_!" he said accusingly, his mouth dropping open in disbelief.

Lucy, determined to snub him, walked faster. Their destination was just around the corner. When they finally reached the main doors, she exhaled, trying to release her irritation. The gargoyles in the brass knockers seemed to be sneering at her. Feeling childish, she stuck her tongue out at them. She whirled around and directed a sugary-sweet smile at Gray. He shuddered, knowing that she only smiled like that when she was mad.

"You don't believe me? Well, see for yourself, Mr. Fullbuster, that we really were kidnapped by that purple tornado," she declared. She turned back to the doors and grabbed the handles. She pulled as hard as she could but the doors wouldn't budge. Deciding that two 8-feet-high doors made of solid oak were too heavy for someone her size, she focused her energies on the left door. She tugged at the door, grunting with the effort. The door didn't move an inch.

"Could you?" she asked grudgingly, motioning towards the door.

He placed both hands on the door's handle. He pushed against it with all his strength. The door finally yielded. He smirked at her.

"The doors open outward, princess," he said, his eyes laughing at her. She gawked at him, incredulity clear on her face. Satisfied that he had once again rendered her speechless, he looked outside. What he saw was definitely not what he expected.

"Lucy, we're not in Magnolia anymore."

* * *

A/N: I know that Magnolia is in Fiore but since this is AU and I'm too lazy to make up a name for where Lucy and Gray came from, let's just say that Magnolia and Fiore are two different countries.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I do not own either Fairy Tail or The Wizard of Oz.

"Lucy, we're not in Magnolia anymore."

"I know. I heard you the first time," Lucy answered dryly. She stepped outside, surveying the unfamiliar surroundings.

"Well, why didn't you say anything?" Gray groused, scowling at her. He trudged after her.

"I was waiting for you to say something remotely intelligent," she replied matter-of-factly. "But alas, my hopes of having an intellectually satisfying conversation with you at this moment in time were dashed by your repeated statement of the obvious," she lamented.

"Anyway," she continued, not giving him time to reply, "do you know where we are exactly?"

As if in response, the sky darkened and the first drops of rain fell. They hurried back into the mansion to avoid getting drenched.

"Summer rains," Gray said, running a hand through his damp hair. "You can never predict them."

Lucy nodded absently, distracted by a figure approaching them. Her hand instinctively went to her waist where her gate keys hung. The motion caught Gray's attention. He followed her line of sight and spotted the silhouette of a woman walking slowly towards them. His eyes narrowed.

"Stay here, Lucy," he warned. "She could be dangerous."

Without waiting for a reply, he walked purposefully towards the stranger.

* * *

As he neared the suspicious visitor, he saw that she was around his age. He stopped and assessed her. Blue hair. He preferred blondes. Pale complexion. He liked girls who looked healthy. He stared openly at her, unmindful of the fact that the girl in question was peering at him shyly from under the parasol she held in her hand. In the end, he concluded that she wasn't his type.

"State your business," he enunciated, falling back into his butler role. Ice formed around his hand. He tensed slightly, preparing himself in case she attacked.

The girl's cheeks flushed. She wrenched her gaze from the rivulets of water trickling down his sculpted body. Seeing her sneaking glances at his bare chest, he wished that he had at least put on a shirt before he came out to meet her. He felt so exposed.

"I am Juvia, Wizard Master of Phantom in the north. I have come to offer you my thanks for ridding Fiore of the villainous Eligor and to acknowledge you as the new wizard master of the east," she said, stumbling over her words. Her eyes flitted this way and that, unable to meet his.

"Huh?" he said, confused.

"Are you not a wizard?" she asked, looking pointedly at the ice encasing his hand. "And is this," she gestured towards the Heartphilia mansion, "not your mansion that crushed Eligor, former Wizard Master of Eisenwald?"

"Oh, that's not mine. That's Lucy's," he replied nonchalantly.

"Lucy?" she articulated, her grip on her parasol tightening. She saw someone coming up behind Gray.

"That's me," the person said cheerfully. "I'm Lucy Heartphilia." She held an open umbrella in one hand, her free hand clutching her keys. Gray strode towards her and took the umbrella from her. He held it above them, closing the distance between them to avoid getting even wetter. Juvia eyed the intimate way they stood together suspiciously. Lucy, mistaking her scrutiny for curiosity, smiled at her welcomingly.

"And how are you related to Mr. -," she paused, remembering that she had forgotten to ask for his name.

"Gray Fullbuster," he said helpfully.

"Thank you," she coughed, willing her voice not to squeak.

"What is your relationship with Mr. Fullbuster, if I may ask, Miss Heartphilia?" she inquired, glaring subtly at the blonde.

"She's my mistress," Gray clarified. Lucy nodded in agreement, looking puzzled at the sudden hostility directed at her.

Juvia's eyes widened, her hand flying up to cover her suddenly trembling mouth. She turned away, muttering to herself.

"His mistress? His woman? His wife?" she cried, her voice steadily escalating.

"Oh, how cruel fate is," she grieved, earning her looks of confusion from the other two. She walked towards Lucy, her shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Juvia will wish you well, even if it is painful," she said mournfully. She pressed her lips lightly to Lucy's forehead.

"The kiss of the Wizard Master of the north will ensure that no one will harm you," she sniffled. She looked at Gray with watery eyes.

"Goodbye, Mr. Fullbuster," she said tearfully. She started walking back the way she came. After a few meters, she broke out into a run.

"Oh, what could have been!" she wailed.

They watched her go, each wondering what had just happened. Once she was out of sight, the rain stopped as suddenly as it had started. Gray looked down at Lucy and snickered.

"Your forehead's glowing," he pointed out.

Lucy ran to the nearest puddle and inspected her face. She saw that her forehead was indeed glowing where Juvia had kissed her.

"What _is _this?" she cried, rubbing furiously at the mark.

"Aye! That mark is a sign that you are under the protection of the wizard master of the north!" a voice chirped from behind her. She looked over her shoulder and found that the voice belonged to a blue cat. With wings.

"I'm not even surprised anymore," she sighed. "This place just keeps getting weirder and weirder."


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I do not own either Fairy Tail or The Wizard of Oz.

Lucy and Gray walked along the dusty path, both eyeing the houses they passed dubiously. They seemed normal enough; it's the inhabitants that were acting strange. In every cottage they passed, faces were pressed against window panes—some curious, others wary. The blue cat hovered a few meters in front of them, chattering nonstop. Lucy, after getting over the initial shock of seeing a flying, talking cat, immediately demanded information. The cat—he introduced himself as Happy—was more than willing to oblige.

Gray held up a hand to interrupt the seemingly endless stream of words pouring from the feline.

"We don't really need to know which restaurant serves which fish," he said exasperatedly. "Can you tell us about this Eligor guy that we accidentally landed on?"

"More importantly, we aren't going to jail, are we?" Lucy asked, her eyes wide with alarm. "It wasn't our fault! We didn't know he was under there! Wait a minute. We didn't even want to come here! I want to go home!" she wailed.

"Don't worry, Lucy. Eligor was a wanted man so I'm sure you won't get any trouble from the guilds about that. Not from the official ones at least," Happy reassured her. Lucy exhaled, her shoulders slumping in relief.

"Guilds?" Gray raised an eyebrow in inquiry.

"Aye! Fiore has five guilds; Phantom in the north, Blue Pegasus in the south, Grimoire Heart in the west, Eisenwald here in the east, and Fairy Tail in the center. My friend Natsu and I are from Fairy Tail but we're traveling all over Fiore right now. Anyway, each guild is ruled by its own wizard master. Phantom, Blue Pegasus and Fairy Tail are official guilds; the other two are known as dark guilds," Happy explained, bobbing slightly in mid-air.

"What do the guilds do? How is a dark guild different from an official guild?" Lucy asked. She toyed absently with her side ponytail. She and Gray plodded on, following Happy. She reasoned that he was probably taking them to this Natsu person.

"Official guilds protect the non-mages within their territories," the cat answered. "Dark guilds, however, don't care about anything like that. They just do whatever they want." He landed on the ground and let his wings disappear.

"This is my magic, Aera," he said, seeing Lucy's curious stare. "Speaking of magic, I know Gray's probably some kind of ice mage—I saw him use his magic before— but what's yours, Lucy? It must be powerful if you could beat Eligor so easily."

"I keep telling you; that was just an accident," Lucy replied wearily. "Anyhow, I'm a stellar spirit mage." She held her keys up for him to see. She explained to him how her magic worked; she formed contracts with stellar spirits so that she could summon them in battle. Happy looked intrigued. He kept stealing glances at the keys, wondering if she had a key that could summon fish.

* * *

The trio walked steadily on, Happy explaining and the other two occasionally asking questions. When they had exhausted the topic, they lapsed into comfortable silence.

"Um…" Gray began.

"Shh!" Lucy scolded. "Can't you read the mood? We're supposed to be contemplating quietly here!"

"Sorry."

Gray pursed his lips, feeling torn between not incurring Lucy's wrath—she could be so easily upset sometimes—and wanting to voice his concerns. After a few minutes, Lucy threw her hands up in surrender.

"Fine then. Out with it. What is it that you want to say so badly?" she demanded.

"Where exactly are we going?" he asked. Lucy paused; she had been busy digesting the information so she hadn't given much thought to where they were going. She looked around and noticed that they had left the houses behind and were now walking along fields of corn. Seeing him looking at her expectantly, she blushed, not wanting to admit to her absent-mindedness. She's been so scatter-brained lately, especially around Gray. She scrambled for something to say.

"Happy knows, right?" Lucy redirected the question to the cat. She gave herself a pat on the back for her quick thinking.

"I don't know." Happy shook his head.

The two gaped at him incredulously.

"You _don't _know?" Lucy cried. "I thought you were taking us to meet that Natsu guy!"

Happy's eyes widened. He had gotten so caught up in talking to both of them that he had forgotten all about Natsu. Without explanation, he zipped away, leaving her staring after him in disbelief.

"He left us!" Lucy spluttered. She turned to Gray. "He _left_ us!" she repeated indignantly.

"I know. The nerve." Gray deadpanned.

* * *

They had been walking for hours, traveling in the direction Happy had flown of to and keeping a lookout for their erstwhile feline companion. The sun had set a while ago and the air was rapidly cooling. Lucy dragged her feet, grumbling about stupid cats who abandon people in the middle of nowhere. She rubbed her arms furiously, trying to restore warmth to her limbs. The action jingled the keys at her waist. She looked at them and smiled.

"Open, Gate of the Clock! Horologium!" she uttered, her hand clutching Horologium's silver key. The grandfather clock appeared in a puff of smoke. Gray coughed and waved his hand in front of his face, trying to clear away the smoke so he could see. Once it dissipated, he saw that Lucy had climbed into the clock. She was curled up, trembling slightly from the cold.

"What are you doing?"

"'I'm cold, tired and hungry. I refuse to take another step,' she says," Horologium replied.

Gray just shook his head and resumed walking. Horologium, with Lucy tucked safely inside it, trotted after him.

"Maybe we should stop for the night," Gray mused, looking around for a suitable place to settle in. He was fairly confident that he could get a fire going to keep them both warm. There was bound to be plenty of dry grass in the fields around them.

"'_Now_ you say we stop. Couldn't you have said that earlier? Before I summoned Horologium?' she says," the clock repeated Lucy's grumbles. Gray didn't answer; he had spotted what looked to be an abandoned barn just a few meters ahead. He quickened his stride, squinting against the darkness.

"'Oi! Don't just leave me here!' she says."

They had reached the barn. Its doors were barred with a rotten piece of wood. Gray wrenched it away; it splintered into pieces under his hands. He pulled the doors open and peered into the barn's dark interior.

"Hey, Lucy. Do you have a light or something?" he called.

"No," Lucy replied shortly, climbing out of the clock and surveying the barn with mild distaste. It looked damp. She didn't like the damp. She waved her hand, dismissing Horologium with a nod in thanks.

"Guess I'll go get something to start a fire with. You stay here," he instructed, nudging her into the shed.

Lucy opened her mouth to argue but Gray beat her to it.

"It's too dark out. You're not used to walking in the dark. You'd just slow me down," he rationalized. He turned away and began walking away, leaving the barn doors open to let the moonlight in. He didn't want to have to leave her here alone but he had no choice; she would freeze to death without a fire.

Lucy fought against tears welling up from her eyes. She swallowed a lump in her throat. He didn't have to phrase it like that; she knew she was of no help in these kinds of situations. She always needed Gray; never the other way round. She sniffed, looking around the shed. It seemed that it hasn't been abandoned for long; she could still smell the horses which have been housed here. Deciding that sitting down while bawling her eyes out was preferable to doing it standing up, she toed the nearest pile of hay, checking if it was safe.

"Kyaa!" she squealed as her foor nudged something soft that was definitely not hay. A masculine groan answered her. Lucy looked closer and saw that what she had thought was a large heap of hay was actually a person—a boy—covered in straw. His pink hair was streaked with dirt and dried blood.

"Is he…dead?" she whispered to herself in horror. She prodded his leg gently. He jerked awake, struggling against the ropes binding his arms and feet together. Lucy recoiled in alarm. Her abrupt movement drew the boy's attention.

"Thank goodness! I thought I'd be stuck here forever! Could you untie me?" the boy grinned up at her, clearly not minding her shocked stare. Lucy bent down, studying the knots. She had read about this kind of knot in a book once. Drawing only on theoretical knowledge, she worked studiously at the ropes. After a minute of picking at the knot, she had him free. He sprang to his feet as soon as he was released and beamed at her.

"Gee, thanks! You're nice. I'm Natsu Dragneel," he rattled off, extending a hand to her. Just then, clouds moved to hide the moon, throwing the shed into darkness. Lucy, trying not to let her unease at the loss of the moonlight show, hesitantly reached out to grasp his hand. The instant their hands came in contact, Lucy heard a horrible squelching sound. Natsu noticed that she had stiffened at the sound and was now staring at their linked hands in horror. He let go and smiled at her sheepishly.

"Oh, sorry about that," he laughed weakly. "I think there was some horse dung mixed in with the hay."

A disgusted shriek shattered the night air.

* * *

A/ N: I just noticed that the other chapters had no line breaks! I fixed that so feel free to re-read the previous chapters if you want. To those who wish for me to post the succeeding chapters (as of now I'm working on chapter 6) please review... I'm open to any suggestions you guys might have :3


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I do not own either Fairy Tail or The Wizard of Oz.

Only two people submitted a summary T_T so thanks to _**Jazzele **_and **_F__edski._** Anyway, both were good but I had to choose one. So, congrats to_** Jazzele**_! Just email me at chaotic_souljam . yahoo . com (remove the spaces) whether you want a LokiLucy series of oneshots/drabbles or a continuation of **Words Unsaid**.

Anyway, on with the story!

* * *

Gray walked back towards the barn with an armful of dry grass. He had also picked up some twigs to use as firewood. He was trying to think of a way to actually _start_ the fire when he heard a rustling among the tall, unharvested corn stalks. His head whipped around, looking for the source of the sound.

"Gray!"

Happy burst from the corn and flew at him, knocking him over.

"Happy! We were looking all over for you!" he scolded.

"I was looking for Natsu. We were supposed to meet up hours ago but he didn't show up! What should I do?" Happy wailed.

"Well, you could stay with us for the night then continue looking for this Natsu person in the morning," he offered, gathering the scattered firewood. Happy hovered uncertainly.

"We're staying in that shed over there," he added, jerking his head in the barn's direction.

Before Happy could answer, a shrill voice pierced through the cool night. Gray tensed; he would know that shriek anywhere. He sprinted as quickly as he could to the barn, berating himself for leaving Lucy alone. Happy hurried after him.

"Gray! Wait for me!"

The barn was only a few meters away. He spurred his legs to go faster, blood pounding feverishly in his ears. He couldn't focus on anything but getting to Lucy; he refused to entertain the thought that he might be too late. Upon reaching the barn, he dashed in, thankful that the door was open; it meant that Lucy might have gotten away already.

The shed's interior was dark; the moon was still hidden behind the clouds. He cursed, straining frantically to see through the darkness.

"Lucy?" he panted. He saw movement in the shadows from the corner of his eye. The clouds chose that moment to drift away, allowing moonlight to shine into the barn. Grateful for the light, he turned towards the motion he had spotted before. His eyes widened, taking in the scene in front of him; a ragged-looking boy with ridiculously pink hair knelt beside an unconscious Lucy, his grimy hands gripping her shoulders. Their eyes met for a moment, both not expecting to see the other. Then Gray growled at him and the moment was broken.

"Get your hands off her!" he snarled with barely-concealed fury. The startled boy jumped off Lucy, wiping his hands surreptitiously on his trousers, and began babbling. He couldn't care less what kind of excuses he was trying to make; he hurt his mistress and he was going to pay dearly for that. He analyzed the situation; the bastard was far enough from Lucy that he could attack without harming her. His magic pooled into his hands quickly, fueled by the ferocity of his anger.

"Ice Make: Lance!"

"Whoa!" the stranger ducked, narrowly avoiding the ice that spiked towards him. "That's dangerous!"

Gray gritted his teeth. This guy was fast. He had already managed to escape outside the barn. Then he smiled humorlessly. At least if he was outside, he didn't have to hold back for fear of hitting Lucy by accident.

"Roar of the Fire Dragon!" the boy countered, exhaling a strong burst of flames in Gray's direction. Eyes widening, he was about to duck when he realized that the flames would set the barn on fire if he did.

"Ice Make: Shield!" A panel of ice came into being in front of him, deflecting the flames. Without giving his opponent the chance to recover, he lunged at him.

"Ice Make: Floor!" The soft earth froze into a slick sheet of ice in an instant. His opponent, not expecting this kind of maneuver, flailed, trying to get his balance back. He landed on his rear with a hard thump.

"Why are you attacking me?" The boy glowered at Gray, attempting to get back to his feet. But the ice was too slippery and he couldn't. Gray strode purposefully towards his foe; he didn't look like he would be getting up anytime soon.

"What did you do to Lucy?" he hissed. He gripped the boy's muffler and dragged him to his feet. Gray glared at him, his entire body trembling with rage.

"Luigi? Who the heck is Luigi?" the boy asked in confusion.

"Natsu!" Happy flew towards them. Gray started; he had forgotten about the cat.

"Where _were _you?" Happy demanded. Then he froze, eyeing the two questioningly. "Why are you two—Natsu, what did you do _this_ time?" The cat shook his head wearily.

"_You're_ Natsu?" Gray looked at him in blatant surprise. He dropped the muffler and allowed the ice under their feet to melt away.

"Well, yeah," he scoffed, rearranging his muffler. "Anyway, do you always do this? Go around half-naked randomly attacking people you don't even know?"

"I didn't 'randomly' attack you. You knocked Lucy out so I thought I'd knock _you_ out," Gray spat. He ignored the half-naked remark; he couldn't deny it after all. Besides, there were more important things to discuss than his state of undress.

"Knock out? Oh, you mean that girl back there. Hey, listen. I didn't hurt her if that's what you're implying," Natsu said, his tone indignant.

"Oh, yeah? How do you explain her being unconscious?" Gray clenched his fist, ready to take a swing at Natsu depending on what his answer would be.

"Well…I might have kinda maybe grossed her out. So she fainted," he answered, rubbing his nape sheepishly. Happy and Gray stared in utter incomprehension.

"You," Happy said slowly.

"Grossed her out," Gray finished.

Natsu relayed what happened in the barn; that he had attempted to acquaint himself with the person who freed him but only managed to smear horse manure all over her hand. When he was done, Gray and Happy burst out laughing. Natsu joined in, chuckling at the fact that he had managed to incapacitate a person simply by overwhelming her with disgust.

"Anyway," Natsu said when their snickers had finally subsided. "Who were you again?" He directed the question at Gray.

"Gray Fullbuster," he replied. He should really come up with a better introduction than that; maybe something along the lines of 'Gray, ice mage extraordinaire with a penchant for exhibitionism'. He paused. That didn't sound right. Maybe he should leave out the exhibitionist part.

"Well, you know who I am already. But anyway," Natsu shrugged. "Natsu Dragneel."

* * *

The trio—Gray, Happy, Natsu—sat around a merrily crackling fire that Natsu had provided for them. The hay was damp but that didn't stop Natsu's fire magic from igniting it. Gray was impressed but didn't allow it to show; he had a feeling that Natsu would never let him live it down. He let the conversation—about some Lisanna girl—wash over him. He had listened at first when Natsu was telling him that he was a dragonslayer trained by Igneel, a fire dragon; he wondered at the irony of a dragon training a dragonslayer.

His eyes kept drifting across the fire to Lucy's prone form; it was worrying that she hadn't regained consciousness yet. As funny as Natsu's version of what happened had been, he wasn't convinced that she had fainted that easily. If he knew Lucy—and he did, damn it—she wasn't that pathetic. Sure, she was afraid of the dark and thunder and little creepy crawlies but she wouldn't pass out from just that.

He spotted the rope clutched in Lucy's dainty fingers. Uneasiness flooded him; his instincts were screaming at him that something was wrong. Happy noticed his restlessness.

"What is it, Gray?" he asked.

Gray ignored him and moved to Lucy's side. Eyeing the rope warily, he reached out to pluck it out of her hands then paused to reconsider; if he was right and the rope was indeed the reason for Lucy's blackout, then to touch it with his bare hands would be stupid. He couldn't help her if he was incapacitated too. He considered his options; he could risk having either Happy or Natsu take the rope or find a way to destroy it without touching it. He decided that putting the other two in danger was not a very good idea, especially since they could probably help them find their way home. So the first option was out. His only choice was to destroy the rope itself.

"Freeze," he muttered, his fingers hovering inches from Lucy's own slender ones. His brow furrowed in concentration; he had to do this just right or Lucy could lose her fingers to frostbite if he lost control of his magic. Ice crept slowly up the rope, rendering the rope rigid and brittle.

"Ice Make: Dagger," A thin blade of ice formed in his hand. He pressed it against the frozen rope, carefully maneuvering its edge in between Lucy's fingers. Once all the pieces of the rope had fallen to the ground, she stirred. Gray let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding; she was all right.

"Gray?" She sat up slowly, her hand cradling her head. "What—Happy! And what's-his-name—Natsu!" she exclaimed, noticing the recent additions to their group.

"Aye!" Happy replied cheerfully.

"Luigi!" Natsu began.

"It's Lucy! Not Luigi. At least get my name right. Geez," She rolled her eyes at Natsu.

"Sorry about the—you know," he said, gesturing towards her hand.

Lucy looked down and grimaced at the foul smell wafting up from the muck on her hand. She wiped it in the bale of hay that she deemed looked the cleanest and held her hand towards Gray. She didn't have to tell him what to do. He let some magic trickle from his fingertips to her outstretched hand, careful not to use too much. Her fingers frosted very slightly and he withdrew his magic, causing the paper-thin layer of ice to melt from her body heat. Cool water ran down her hand, taking with it the worst of the filth that she hadn't managed to wipe off. He knew that she had seen him use this trick before when he had been cleaning their stables for the whole day and was too tired to take a proper shower; she walked into his room while he was doing it then rushed right back out, stammering apologies about interrupting his 'bath time'. It wasn't very hygienic but beggars can't be choosers. There obviously wasn't any proper bathroom anywhere near.

"Lucy, Natsu said you passed out from the shock of getting your hand dirty. Is that true?" Happy snickered.

Lucy made a choked noise of indignation. "Excuse me? I'm not _that_ faint-hearted!"

"Right," Natsu drawled, clearly not believing her. He and Happy whispered conspiratorially together. Gray caught snatches of their conversation—something about denial and Lucy—but dismissed it as unimportant. He turned to Lucy, intent on discovering what had really happened.

"It was the rope that was binding Natsu," she explained. The other two quit their gossiping and gave her their attention when they heard her mention Natsu. "It was enchanted; I felt its magic when I touched it. I think it was some kind of binding spell that was set to trigger when someone untied the knot."

"Ah! I think that Bora guy said something like that," Natsu put in. "He was all 'Mwahaha! Whoever unties that knot will fall into a hundred years of sleep!' or something like that."

"What is this? Snow White?" Gray deadpanned.

"I think you meant Sleeping Beauty, Gray." Lucy giggled.

He paused. Oh, yeah. Snow White was the one with the apple and the bitchy queen stepmother. Damn it. He always mixed those fairytales up.

"Wait. So you knew that the rope was cursed and you let her untie you anyway?" Gray shot Natsu a withering glare.

"Well," he fidgeted. "I figured it was just sleep and you could, y'know, wake up anytime you wanted?" He smiled guiltily at her.

"And they say chivalry is dead," she sighed.

* * *

A/N: Whoa! This is the longest chapter yet XD. Maybe because I tried a different style for this chapter? The previous chapters were in 3rd person omniscient POV but for this chapter it was more…selective in that mostly only you can only hear one character's thoughts, namely Gray. I found that it was easier for me to write this way soo…

Anyway, please review about which style you prefer. I may (or may not, depending on the reviews =^_^=) rewrite the previous chapters in this style. So, R&R onegai!

Oh, yeah. I was thinking of putting up a quick preview of what I'm planning to do for the next chapter. Well, here it is. It's not written in stone though so it might change. I swear sometimes when I write, the story evolves on its own. O_O

_Next chapter:_ Natsu's reason for traveling around Fiore is revealed.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: I do not own Fairy Tail or The Wizard of Oz.

_A girl stood leaning on her balcony overlooking a garden filled with all sorts of flowers, her face upturned to the full moon. The midnight wind ruffled her short snow-white locks. She ignored it in favor of watching for movement in the bushes. After a few minutes of fruitless searching, she closed her eyes and sighed. _

"_Natsu..."_

_He started, obviously not expecting to hear his name from her. Even before she had come out, he was already there waiting for her. This had been happening a few nights now; he would sneak in to wait for her to come to her balcony, eager to talk to her. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't muster enough courage to announce his presence. So his nightly visits always ended with her going back into her room and him slinking back home, telling himself that he would definitely talk to her next time. Visiting her at night was different from meeting her during the day; at night he wasn't her childhood friend but her would-be suitor. Or he _would_ be if he actually had the guts to declare his intentions. _

_She turned as if to walk back to her room. On impulse, he stepped from his hiding place and called to her._

"_Lisanna! Wait!"_

_He berated himself for not thinking before he revealed himself; she was going to think he was some kind of stalker and stop being friends with him. But when she smiled at him, he forgot everything but her and her sky-colored eyes. He moved closer to the balcony, craning his neck to get a better glimpse of her. Then he noticed she was wearing a sheer nightgown. He felt his whole body flush at the sight; it suited her _very_ well. _

"_What are you doing here?" Lisanna whispered, glancing behind her to make sure that her bedroom door was locked. Seeing that it was, she turned back to him and nodded for him to answer her question. She folded her arms on the cold marble of her balcony and rested her head against them. Her eyes twinkled with amusement as she gazed down at him._

"_Er, I was, umm," he stammered, unsure of how to explain why he was hiding in her garden at this time of the night. "I was hungry for some of your, uh," he looked around for inspiration. He was going to say 'home cooking' but realized that that was completely inappropriate, seeing as it was midnight. He saw some kind of plant beside him._

"_For some lettuce! Yeah, lettuce." He reached out, plucked a few leaves, and shoved them into his mouth. He grimaced at the taste. How could people eat this stuff? It was horrible! But Lisanna might be offended if he said that out loud—she loved vegetables—so he choked it down._

"_Yum," He forced himself not to gag. _

"_Natsu, that was bitterfilm," Lisanna giggled. _

_Bitterfilm? No wonder it didn't taste edible! He coughed, even more embarrassed now._

"_I knew that." He nodded his head sagely. "I was testing you." He stared at the plant; was that really not lettuce? He could have sworn that it was…_

"_Uh huh," she snickered. "So, why are you _really _here?"_

"_I was going to call on you," he said offhandedly. Ah, now he remembered. Lettuce was green and bitterfilm was red. Pleased that he had resolved the matter of the plant being lettuce or bitterfilm, he glanced back up at her. He saw her staring at him in utter surprise. Then the full weight of his words hit him and his eyes widened in mortification._

"_You tricked me!" He pointed an accusing finger at her. _

"_Huh?" She cocked her head in confusion. _

"_You distracted me with the plant thingy so I would tell you I'm in love with you!" _

_He clamped his mouth shut, his face steadily reddening. He groaned. This was not how he had imagined his confession would be like. He was such an idiot! _

"_You're," she blinked shyly at him, "in love with _me_?" _

_Deciding that to deny it now would be pointless, he began to climb to her. If he was going to ask her out, he wanted to do it face to face. But the marble was slippery and his hands couldn't find purchase anywhere. He swore under his breath as he kept slipping down, unable to reach her. Lisanna stood patiently, waiting for him to climb up. _

_He was halfway up when he heard an ominous click. It was Lisanna's bedroom door being unlocked and he knew that only one person checked on her at random intervals during the night; he had learned that years before when he tried to sneak her out so they could go star-gazing together. He froze as his mind ran through the different scenarios that would happen if Mirajane found him here. They all ended with him getting beat up within an inch of his life. His head whipped from side to side, desperately looking for a hiding place. _

"_Natsu, go hide quick! Mira-nee's coming!" Lisanna, eyes wide with alarm, shooed him away._

_He spotted an overhanging ledge above him. If he could hide under there until Mirajane left, he would be fine. He scrambled under it, gripped the edges with his hand and pressed his body against the marble, silently praying for his arms to hold until it was safe._

"_Lisanna? Were you talking to someone?" a soft voice asked. _

"_Mira-nee! I was just looking at the moon and, you know, talking to myself," Lisanna squeaked, her back against the balcony. _

"_Really? I could have sworn I heard someone…" Mirajane mused. "Well, you should go to bed. It's late and we have a mission tomorrow."_

_Natsu's arms trembled with the effort of supporting his weight. He bit back a curse as his fingers slipped slightly. She had better leave soon or he would end up falling and revealing that he had been there all along. _

"_Okay," Lisanna nodded. Mirajane looked suspiciously towards the balcony. She shook her head dismissively and made to go back to her room._

_Natsu's fingers chose that moment to lose their grip on the ledge. His arms flailed helplessly as he tumbled to the ground. He cursed his luck; he had almost made it too. He landed on his back, the damp soil breaking his fall. _

"_Damn it!" He clamped a hand against his mouth but it was too late; he had given himself away. _

"_Hi, Mirajane. Nice night, isn't it?" He smiled brightly at her, hoping that she was in a good mood tonight. She stared down at him, her expression unreadable._

"_Natsu. May I ask why you were hiding under Lisanna's balcony?" Mirajane smiled sweetly. He shuddered, well aware that underneath that gentle façade was one _hell_ of an elder sister when she was pissed. He knew that she could always tell when he was lying; his only choice was to tell the truth and hope for the best._

"_I was calling on Lisanna," He prayed that she approved of him as a suitable match for Lisanna; if not, chances are he would never see the sun rise again._

"_You?" Mirajane's light tone changed abruptly. "I will never accept a brainless idiot as Lisanna's suitor!"_

"_So, if I have brains, it's fine?" He said hopefully. Surely brains weren't that hard to find. He'd ask Happy tomorrow where to find some. He met Lisanna's gaze with his own. "Okay, I'll go get me some brains and come back for you, Lisanna," he beamed at her. _

"_Oh, Natsu," Mirajane shook her head. "You leave me no choice. Sorry, Lisanna. He has to go."_

"_Eh?" He looked questioningly at Mirajane._

"_Satan Soul!" _

_

* * *

_

"So, that's why Happy and me are traveling around Fiore. I need some brains so I can ask Lisanna out," Natsu finished.

He was in the driver's elevated seat in front, fueling the carriage they were currently riding with his magic power. Lucy had been annoyed when Natsu and Happy had told them that they were not far from a town. It was only an hour's walk from the barn. She couldn't fathom why they hadn't just gone to the village and rented some rooms in the inn. She knew Natsu had enough money; he was able to rent this vehicle after all.

"It's Happy and I, not Happy and me," Lucy added absently. She couldn't believe his thick-headedness; he actually took it literally! And she thought Gray was an idiot. He was Einstein compared to this moron. Still, his story was pretty romantic. She sighed, wishing that something like that would happen to her.

Her eyes were drawn to Gray, who was sitting beside her and had yet to clothe himself with. Actually, she had convinced Natsu to buy them practical traveling clothes as compensation for the trouble he had caused them. Gray just opted not to wear his; she didn't bother to argue with him because she knew that he would just take it off as soon as he got a chance. She traced the hard ridges of his body with her eyes and admired the subtle strength in his features. She had read a lot of novels where the butler would fall in love with his lady and they would elope. Those novels she read on the sly because she didn't want Gray to see her reading them. That would be way too embarrassing, especially since he has given no indication of harboring special feelings for her. She looked down at herself. Was she really so unattractive that he never even noticed her as a girl?

The carriage hit a bump on the road for the millionth time, jolting Lucy from her thoughts. She looked out and watched the fields going by.

"How much farther is this Fairy Tail?" Gray asked Happy, who was also riding in the carriage with them.

"A few days travel, maybe," Happy considered.

Lucy nodded. That wasn't too bad. They had left the fields behind and entered a thick forest. She was sure they—meaning Natsu and Gray—could find something for them to eat. And there was bound to be streams where she could bathe in. Bored by the trees flitting past as their carriage sped along the road to Fairy Tail, she sat back.

"Tell me about Mr. Makarov. Can he really help us get back to Magnolia?" Lucy cocked her head at Happy.

"Aye! Master Makarov can do anything," he replied.

"Oh, really," Lucy said dubiously. "If that's true, then why didn't you just ask him to help you with your Lisanna problem?" She directed her question at Natsu. The carriage slowed to a halt. She looked out at Natsu, wondering why they had stopped. Happy flew to Natsu's side.

"I never thought of that!" He sat frozen and ashen-faced. "Happy! Why didn't you say that earlier when we were still in Fairy Tail?"

"It didn't occur to me either!" Happy wailed in distress.

Lucy gawked at them, unable to believe the depth of those two's inanity. She was glad stupidity wasn't contagious. Even now, the duo was still ranting about not having realized the easiest solution to their problem.

"Never mind that. Let's just get going so we can reach Fairy Tail as soon as possible," Gray interjected.

The carriage started up and they continued on their way.

* * *

The group sat around a fire. They had stopped when it had gotten too dark to see the road. Gray bit into an apple; he had found an apple tree while looking for some dry wood for the fire. He had been curious about why there was an apple tree in a wild forest; as far as he knew, apples didn't thrive well without anyone caring for them. Still, he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Besides, Lucy loved apples. He had gathered as much as he could carry and brought it back to the others.

The group lapsed into comfortable silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Eventually, Natsu announced that he was tired and laid down on one of the blankets they had procured with the money left from paying for the carriage. Happy followed suit, leaving Gray and Lucy sitting quietly by the fire.

Gray watched Lucy take a delicate bite out of her apple. Without thinking, he reached out with a knuckle and gently wiped off the juice trickling down her jaw. He marveled at the soft silkiness of her skin and at the way the firelight danced across her face, lending it an otherworldliness that fascinated him. She had always been pretty, but tonight, she was beautiful. Gray's fingers cupped her chin, his thumb caressing her cheek almost reverently.

"Gray?" she breathed. Her eyelids drifted shut as she leaned into his touch. His dark eyes took her in; lips parted slightly, her body curved towards him as she cradled an apple in her hand. She was so close; a mere heartbeat away. Yet he knew that he could never bring himself to close the distance between them. She was his mistress and he was only her servant. She was forbidden. Always was and always will be.

He let his hand fall away from her before the temptation to taste her lips became too strong for him to resist. Heck, even now he was wondering if they would taste of apples or something even sweeter—a flavor that was hers and hers alone. He stood abruptly, determined to stop his thoughts from straying into even more dangerous territory.

"I'll take first watch," he said shortly. He made for the carriage; he could have stayed at the fire—with her—but he didn't trust himself not to forget his place. He turned away, missing the hurt and confusion on Lucy's face.

* * *

Lucy sat alone beside the fire, unsure what to make of Gray. His feather-light caresses and the warm tingling his fingers had left on her skin had sparked in her feelings that she couldn't explain. She had been afraid to look into his dark eyes; afraid of what she might find. Now, she regretted it. At least, knowing would be better than this raw uncertainty gnawing at her.

She slowly got to her feet, her vision blurring. She brought a hand to her eyes and was surprised to find it wet. She trudged to the pile of blankets and lay down, burying herself in them. She spared no thought to the fact that she was hogging the blankets; Gray deserved to go without them for confusing her like this.

Lucy closed her eyes, willing herself to go to sleep. She longed for what sleep offered: escape from having to think about her feelings for Gray. She didn't want to look into her heart and see how much he had managed to occupy. She found herself wishing for the days when everything was so simple and clear-cut, when he was her butler and her best friend and everything she asked of him. Now, though, he could never be the one thing she wished for the most. For how could he be when she didn't even know what she wanted from him?

She shook her head silently and made a decision. Tomorrow, she would act like this never happened.

* * *

A/N: Another long chapter! Yay! R&R, please! I want to hear your thoughts on story and the way it's written. Oh, and bitterfilm is a made-up plant since I couldn't think of any. ^^,

The next chapter might be delayed since Christmas break (for me) is starting. I write seriously whenever I'm at my dorm since I don't have anything better to do T_T and get sidetracked with other things when at home with unlimited (almost) access to the internet… But I might be motivated to write despite that if I get supportive reviews and constructive criticism.

That's all. Sorry for the long A/N again. :3


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: I do not own Fairy Tail or The Wizard of Oz.

* * *

"Hello? Can anybody hear me? Help!"

Lucy shot up, all traces of sleep gone. She looked around frantically for the source of the voice that had woken her up but saw only her sleeping companions. She frowned. Wasn't Natsu supposed to be on watch after Gray?

"Oi! Is anybody there?" The voice sounded impatient now.

Lucy shook her head and decided that investigating this mysterious voice was far more important than chewing Natsu out for sleeping on his watch, especially since she hadn't had to do a shift because Gray insisted that she shouldn't have to. She got to her feet, cautious not to make too much noise. The other three were probably not going to wake up anytime soon—all that hollering certainly didn't rouse them—but it never hurt to be too careful. She wanted to do this on her own, to prove that she wasn't just a helpless damsel in distress who needed her knight to do everything for her.

She crept away from the campsite but paused when she came to Gray curled up under a tree. He looked uncomfortable, and she felt a pang of guilt for hogging all the blankets. Tiptoeing back to the pile of blankets she had slept on, she grabbed two and carried them to Gray.

"Okay, now what?" Lucy looked down at the blankets in her hand, lost. How on earth was she to get them under Gray? Maybe she could roll him over real fast, put the blankets on the ground, then roll him back on top of them? She entertained the idea for a moment before realization struck her about just how stupid an idea that was. There was no way he wasn't going to wake up if she did that!

"Oh, no! Stupidity _is_ contagious!" she muttered under her breath, glaring at Natsu. "The sooner we reach Fairy Tail, the better."

"Hey! Anybody?" The voice—definitely feminine, now that she thought about it—roared through the trees.

Lucy jumped in surprise and felt almost guilty for getting sidetracked with Gray. Deciding to just put the blankets over him, she gingerly covered his half-naked body, hoping that she wouldn't wake him up. He had shifted slightly when the voice decided to remind them of her presence so he might not be sleeping as deeply as she had initially thought.

After a few moments of waiting with bated breath for any sign of Gray waking up, she found none and deemed it safe to finally go and see just who was calling for help.

"Help, please," The woman sounded tired, her voice hoarse. Lucy hastened her pace; whoever she was, she might be in need of immediate medical attention. She berated herself for not considering that earlier and pushed past the low overhanging tree branches barring her way.

"Wait a minute." Her steps slowed. "How do I know this isn't some kind of trap to lure unsuspecting travelers to their deaths?" she whispered fearfully, her gaze darting furtively around the foliage that she had gone into. Her mind ran through every scenario she had ever encountered in her novels. Psycho stalker, obsessed ghost of a jilted lover, murderous sociopath, the possibilities were endless.

"Well, it's a female so it's probably not a stalker. At least I hope not," she gulped. "And I've never even _had_ a boyfriend so no dead jilted lover. Then that leaves…" her eyes widened in alarm, "murderous sociopath! Oh, my gosh. Why didn't I think this through first?"

She whirled around and started walking back. She kept a brisk pace, intent on getting back to the camp as soon as possible. But after a few meters, she realized she didn't recognize her surroundings at all. Lucy was well and truly lost.

"Why is this happening to me?"

* * *

Erza Scarlet sat in a cool stream, the water flowing serenely around her. Her throat hurt slightly from the effort of calling out on the off chance that somebody was near enough to hear her. She was pretty sure there was a campsite a little ways off because she had spotted the smoke rising from their campfire the night before when she was going to bed. Only a thick barrier of trees separated her from the strangers who had spent the night in the forest she had come to call home.

Her keen hearing picked up the sounds of someone plowing through the trees. She brightened. So someone _had_ heard her!

"Help, please," She didn't bother raising her voice; her would-be rescuer seemed near enough to hear her now. Erza waited impatiently, wishing that she could at least tap her foot to relieve the stress. For the umpteenth time, she cursed her impulsive decision to stay for an extra hour during her bath. If she had only gotten out of the water on schedule, she wouldn't be stuck sitting here waiting for somebody to get her out.

The footsteps stopped. Erza strained her ears, trying to discern why the person had halted. Suddenly, they began again, only this time erratically, as if whoever it was was running from something. She tensed, more eager now to find a way out of her predicament. She didn't fancy meeting a potential enemy in her state now. The person was coming nearer; he would be upon her at any moment. Erza braced herself, readying for a fight.

A blonde girl burst through the foliage, panting. She looked to be around her age. The girl's brown eyes landed on Erza.

"Um, hello?" Erza tried hesitantly, not wanting to scare her away. At least not until she found a way to help her.

The girl's gaze was riveted on the armor Erza was wearing. Almost fearfully, it moved to the claymore—her sword choice of the day—she had laid on a flat stone by the stream. Erza watched, confused, as the girl's expression turned from baffled to frightened.

"Murderous sociopath!" The blonde pointed an accusing finger at her. She began inching away from Erza.

"Excuse me?" Erza replied, affronted. How dare this person accuse her of that? She didn't even know her!

She closed her eyes, tamping down her indignation. There must have been a misunderstanding. Though she had no idea how that had happened seeing as she had only been asking for help. She had even made sure to be polite. She used 'please'!

Erza sighed and began explaining how exactly she had gotten stuck in the stream.

Lucy stood motionless as the woman—she had introduced herself as Erza Scarlet—related to her why she needed her help. Once she was done, Lucy relaxed. So she _wasn't_ a sociopath after all! Judging from her story, she was just another weird person in this land of weird people.

"So let me get this straight," Lucy said. "You need my help because you can't move since your armor rusted while you were taking a bath?"

Erza nodded, looking at her expectantly.

"You were taking a bath?" Another nod. "In your armor?"

"Yes. I already told you—"

"_Why_ didn't you take your armor off first? And what kind of armor rusts that fast?" Lucy ranted. Seriously, what kind of person takes a bath fully clad in armor? At least she wasn't wearing a helmet. That would have been even weirder, if that was even possible.

"I _can't_ take my armor off. An old woman cursed me to wear it all the time because I rejected her son's proposal. As for the rust… well, this iron _is_ pretty old," Erza finished impatiently.

"_Oh_," Lucy did her best not to laugh. She doubted Erza would take it kindly if she started laughing now. The sword over there looked very sharp. Never mind that she was currently incapable of moving. Erza looked like the type to find a way around that given strong enough motivation like, say, someone laughing at her expense.

"What do you need me to do?" Lucy asked. She decided to put off her questions about the specifics of her curse for later; Erza's teeth were chattering.

"First, get me out of the water," Erza commanded. Normally, Lucy would have complained at being bossed around but something about Erza's no-nonsense attitude stopped her. She stepped into the stream and winced when her foot came into contact with the iron greaves covering Erza's shins. Even through her shoes she could feel how cold it was from having been in the water for who knows how long. If her armor was this cold, how had Erza endured even a minute of being in it?

Lucy grabbed Erza's armored arms and heaved with all her might. After a few minutes of pulling and pushing and generally doing whatever she could to get Erza out of the water, she finally succeeded. Of course, Erza was still frozen in a sitting position, but at least she was on dry ground.

"What next?" Lucy panted. Hopefully, the hard part was over and done with. Geez, she had never done work this physically taxing in her entire life!

"There should be some oil in my house over there," Lucy followed Erza's pointed gaze to a small wooden cabin a few hundred meters away from the stream. She hadn't noticed it before because it blended so well with the forest, as if the house had sprung from the forest floor.

"Oh, okay. I'll go get it," Lucy nodded. She got up, trying to ignore her protesting muscles. Was she really this out of shape? She made a mental note to start exercising more.

"I'll be right back."

* * *

Erza watched Lucy go with trepidation. She tried to recall if she had disabled the net trap by the front door.

"Agh!"

Evidently not.

* * *

A/N: Erza's appeared! The gang is almost complete. One more! Try to guess who it'll be =^-^=


End file.
